In certain instances, it would be useful to converse from one person to another over an extended time period without using a standard full duplex open telephone line. One reason a conversation of this type would be useful is that it may be desirable to prevent one party from accidentally hearing a background conversation of the other party when a speaker phone is used. Another reason a conversation of this type would be desirable is to keep some history of what was spoken if one party cannot be listening at all times. Yet another reason is that it may be desirable to have the ability to temporarily suspend the conversation in order to place a conventional phone call.
Normally, during a conversation, full duplex phone calls are placed. Users who do not want the other party to the conversation to hear background conversations use the muting function on conventional phones, however, a full duplex telephone resource between the two points is still required. Additionally, the conventional full duplex system does not support any history of conversation without recording the entire phone call.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for providing audio messaging in a communications network, such as a VoIP network.